The Prime Minister of New Zealand is the head of government of New Zealand. The incumbent Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, took office on 26 October 2017.

The Leader of the Labour Party is the highest ranked politician within the Labour Party in New Zealand. The officeholder serves as the parliamentary leader and leading spokesperson of the party. Since 1 August 2017, the office has been held by Jacinda Ardern, who is the MP for Mount Albert.

The New Zealand Labour Party, or simply Labour, is a centre-left political party in New Zealand. The party's platform programme describes its founding principle as democratic socialism, while observers describe Labour as social-democratic and pragmatic in practice. It is a participant of the international Progressive Alliance.

The University of Waikato, informally Waikato University, is a comprehensive university in Hamilton, New Zealand. The university was established in 1964, and has a satellite campus located in Tauranga.

Helen Elizabeth Clark is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was New Zealand's fifth-longest-serving prime minister, and the second woman to hold that office.

Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997. As of 2019, Blair is the last British Labour Party leader to have won a general election.

Ardern became a list MP in 2008, a position she held for almost ten years until her election to the Mount Albert electorate in the 2017 by-election, held on 25 February. She was unanimously elected as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party on 1 March 2017, following the resignation of Annette King. Ardern became Leader of the Labour Party on 1 August 2017, after Andrew Little resigned from the position following a historically low poll result for the party.[6] In the general election of 23 September 2017, the Labour Party won 46 seats (a net gain of 14), putting it behind the National Party, which won 56 seats.[7] After negotiations with National and Labour, the New Zealand First party chose to enter into a minority coalition government with Labour, supported by the Greens, with Ardern as Prime Minister.[8]

The Deputy Leader of the Labour Party is the second-most senior politician within the Labour Party in New Zealand. The officeholder deputises for the Leader of the Labour Party at party-specific events. Unlike other political party leaders, the Labour Party's Leader does not have the power to dismiss or appoint their Deputy; both the Leader and Deputy Leader are elected. In all cases where the leadership is vacant, the Deputy Leader shall also serve as Acting Leader until a new leadership election. When the Labour Party forms the Official Opposition the Deputy Leader typically serves as Deputy Leader of the Opposition.

Dame Annette Faye King is a former New Zealand politician. She served as Deputy Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party and Deputy Leader of the Opposition from 2008 to 2011, and from 2014 until 1 March 2017. She was a Cabinet Minister in the Fifth Labour Government of New Zealand, and was the MP for the Rongotai electorate in Wellington from 1996 to 2017.

Andrew James Little is a New Zealand politician and former trade union official who was Leader of the Opposition from 18 November 2014 to 1 August 2017.

Ideologically, Ardern describes herself as both a social democrat and a progressive.[9][10] She is the world's youngest female head of government, having taken office at age 37.[11] Giving birth to a daughter on 21 June 2018, Ardern became the world's second elected head of government to give birth while in office.[12]

Progressivism is the support for or advocacy of improvement of society by reform. As a philosophy, it is based on the idea of progress, which asserts that advancements in science, technology, economic development and social organization are vital to the improvement of the human condition.

A head of government is a generic term used for either the highest or second highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, who often presides over a cabinet, a group of ministers or secretaries who lead executive departments. The term "head of government" is often differentiated from the term "head of state", as they may be separate positions, individuals, or roles depending on the country.

Hamilton is a city in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the seat and most populous city of the Waikato region, with a territorial population of 169,300, the country's fourth most-populous city. Encompassing a land area of about 110 km2 (42 sq mi) on the banks of the Waikato River, Hamilton is part of the wider Hamilton Urban Area, which also encompasses the nearby towns of Ngaruawahia, Te Awamutu and Cambridge.

Morrinsville is a provincial town in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island, with a population of approximately 7,000 in the 2013 Census. The town is located at the northern base of the Pakaroa Range, and on the south-western fringe of the Hauraki Plains. Morrinsville is around 33 kilometres east of Hamilton and 22 kilometres west of Te Aroha. The town is bordered by the Piako River to the east and the Waitakaruru Stream to the south.

Murupara is a town located in the North Island of New Zealand. The town is situated in an isolated part of the Bay of Plenty region between the Kaingaroa Forest and Te Urewera National Park, on the banks of the Rangitaiki River, 65 kilometres southeast of Rotorua, along SH38. Murupara is the terminus of the Murupara Branch railway. Its principal industries are all related to forestry. The name Murupara means "to wipe off mud".

Ardern was brought into politics by her aunt, Marie Ardern, a longstanding member of the Labour Party, who recruited the teenaged Ardern to help her with campaigning for New Plymouth MP Harry Duynhoven during his re-election campaign at the 1999 general election.[19]

Harry James Duynhoven is a New Zealand politician and member of the New Zealand Labour Party. He was the mayor of the city of New Plymouth and surrounding districts from 2010–2013. He was a Member of Parliament for the New Plymouth electorate from 1987–1990, from 1993–2003, and again from 2003–2008.

Ardern joined the Labour Party when young, and became a senior figure in the Young Labour sector of the party. After graduating from university, she spent time working in the offices of Phil Goff and of Helen Clark as a researcher. After a period of time volunteering at a soup kitchen in New York City,[20] Ardern moved to London to work as a senior policy adviser in an 80-person policy unit of then-British prime minister Tony Blair.[4] (She never met Blair in London, but did question him about the invasion of Iraq at an event in New Zealand in 2011.[21]) Ardern was also seconded to the Home Office to help with a review of policing in England and Wales.[18]

Member of Parliament

Ahead of the 2008 election, Ardern was ranked 20th on Labour's party list. This was a very high placement for someone who was not already a sitting MP, and virtually assured her of a seat in Parliament. Accordingly, Ardern returned from London to campaign full-time.[22] She also became Labour's candidate for the safe National electorate of Waikato. Ardern was unsuccessful in the electorate vote, but her high placement on Labour's party list allowed her to enter Parliament as a list MP.[23] Upon election, she became the youngest sitting MP in Parliament, succeeding fellow Labour MP Darren Hughes, and remained the youngest MP until the election of Gareth Hughes on 11 February 2010.[24]

She has made regular appearances on TVNZ's Breakfast programme as part of the "Young Guns" feature, in which she appeared alongside National MP (and future National leader) Simon Bridges.[26]

Ardern contested the seat of Auckland Central for Labour in the 2011 general election, standing against incumbent National MP Nikki Kaye for National and Greens candidate Denise Roche. Despite targeting Green voters to vote strategically for her, she lost to Kaye by 717 votes. However, she returned to Parliament via the party list, on which she was ranked 13th.[27] She maintained an office within the electorate while a listed MP based in Auckland Central.

After Goff resigned from the Party leadership following his defeat at the 2011 election, Ardern supported David Shearer over David Cunliffe. She was elevated to the fourth-ranking position in the Shadow Cabinet on 19 December 2011, becoming a spokesperson for social development under new leader David Shearer.[25]

Ardern stood again in Auckland Central at the 2014 general election. She again finished second though increased her own vote and reduced Kaye's majority from 717 to 600.[28] Ranked 5th on Labour's list Ardern was still returned to Parliament where she became Shadow spokesperson for Justice, Children, Small Business, and Arts & Culture under new leader Andrew Little.[29]

Mount Albert by-election

Ardern put forward her name for the Labour nomination for the Mount Albert by-election to be held in February 2017[30] following the resignation of former Labour leader David Shearer on 8 December 2016. When nominations for the Labour Party closed on 12 January 2017, Ardern was the only nominee and was selected unopposed. On 21 January, Ardern participated in the 2017 Women's March, a worldwide protest in opposition to Donald Trump, the newly inaugurated President of the United States.[31] She was confirmed as Labour's candidate at a meeting on 22 January.[32][33] Ardern won a landslide victory, gaining 77 percent of votes cast in the preliminary results.[34][35]

Deputy leader of the Labour Party

Following her win in the by-election, Ardern was unanimously elected as deputy leader of the Labour Party on 7 March 2017, following the resignation of Annette King who was intending to retire at the next election.[36] Ardern's vacant list seat was taken by Raymond Huo.[37]

Leader of the Opposition

On 1 August 2017, just seven weeks before the 2017 general election, she assumed the office of leader of the opposition and leader of the New Zealand Labour Party following the resignation of Andrew Little. Little stood down due to the party's historically low polling.[38] Ardern was unanimously confirmed in an election to choose a new leader at a caucus meeting the same day.[39] At 37, Ardern became the youngest leader of the Labour Party in its history.[40] She is also the second female leader of the party after Helen Clark.[41] According to Ardern, Little had previously approached her on 26 July and said he thought she should take over as Labour leader then as he was of the opinion he couldn't turn things around for the party, although Ardern declined and told him to "stick it out".[42]

At her first press conference following her election as leader, she said that the forthcoming election campaign would be one of "relentless positivity".[43] Immediately following her appointment, the party was inundated with donations by the public, reaching NZ$700 per minute at its peak.[44] Ardern's election was followed by a spate of positive coverage from many sections of the media, including international outlets such as CNN,[45] with commentators referring to a 'Jacinda effect' and 'Jacindamania'.[46][47]

After Ardern's ascension to the leadership Labour rose dramatically in opinion polls. By late August they had risen to 43 percent in the Colmar Brunton poll (having been 24percent under Little's leadership) as well as managing to overtake National in opinion polls for the first time in over a decade.[42] In mid-August 2017, Ardern stated that a Labour government would establish a tax working group to explore the possibility of introducing a capital gains tax but ruled out taxing family homes.[48][49] In response to negative publicity, Ardern abandoned plans to introduce a capital gains tax during the first term of a Labour government.[50][51] Finance spokesperson Grant Robertson later clarified that Labour would not introduce new taxes until after the 2020 election. The policy shift accompanied strident allegations by the Minister of Finance Steven Joyce that Labour had a $11.7billion "hole" in its tax policy.[52][53]

The Labour and Green parties' proposed water and pollution taxes also generated criticism from farmers. On 18 September, the farming lobby group Federated Farmers staged a protest against the taxes in Ardern's hometown of Morrinsville. New Zealand First leader Winston Peters attended the protest to campaign, but was jeered at by the farmers because they suspected he was also in favour of the taxes. During the protest, one farmer displayed a sign calling Ardern a "pretty Communist". This was criticised as misogynistic by former Prime Minister Helen Clark.[54][55] During the campaign trail, Ardern expressed her support for decriminalising abortion by removing it from the 1961 Crimes Act.[56] In September, Ardern said she wanted New Zealand to have a debate on removing the monarch of New Zealand as its head of state.[57]

2017 election results

Preliminary results from the general election indicated that the party got a more modest 35.79% of the vote to National's 46.03%. Labour gained 14 seats, increasing its parliamentary representation to 45 seats. This was the best result for Labour since losing power in 2008.[58][59] Following the elections, Ardern and deputy leader Kelvin Davis entered into negotiations with the Greens and New Zealand First parties to explore forming a coalition since the rival National Party lacked sufficient seats to govern alone. Under the country's mixed-member proportional (MMP) voting system, New Zealand First held the balance of power, and was, therefore, able to choose the party that would lead a coalition government.[60][61] Following the release of special (including overseas voting) results on 7 October, Labour gained an extra seat on the initial result, raising its presence in a parliament to 46 seats.[7]

On 20 October, Ardern confirmed that she would hold the ministerial portfolios of National Security and Intelligence, Arts, Culture and Heritage, and Vulnerable Children, reflecting the shadow positions she held as Leader of the Opposition.[67] However, as of 25 October 2017 her position as Minister for Vulnerable Children had been replaced with the role of Minister for Child Poverty Reduction, and New Zealand First MP Tracey Martin took on the role of Minister for Children.[68] She was officially sworn in by Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy on 26 October, alongside her Cabinet.[69] Upon taking office, Ardern said that her government would be "focused, empathetic and strong".[70]

On 5 November 2017, Ardern made her first official overseas trip to Australia, where she met Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull for the first time. Relations between the two countries had been strained in the preceding months because of Australia's treatment of New Zealanders living in the country, and shortly before taking office, Ardern had spoken of the need to rectify this situation, and to develop a better working relationship with the Australian government.[75] Turnbull described the meeting in cordial terms: "we trust each other...The fact we are from different political traditions is irrelevant".[76] Ardern flew to Vietnam on 9 November for her first visit to an APEC summit.[77]

On 19 January 2018, Ardern announced that she was pregnant and that Winston Peters would take the role of Acting Prime Minister for six weeks after the birth.[78] Following the birth of a daughter, she took her maternity leave from 21 June to 2 August 2018.[79][80][81]

On 2 February, Ardern travelled to Waitangi for the annual Waitangi Day commemoration; she stayed in Waitangi for five days, an unprecedented length.[82] Ardern became the first female Prime Minister to speak from the top marae. Her visit was largely well-received by Māori leaders, with commentators noting a sharp contrast with the acrimonious responses received by several of her predecessors.[82][83]

On 20 April, Ardern attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018 in London, where she was selected to deliver a toast to the Commonwealth at a state banquet of world leaders. She also had her first private audience with the Queen.[84]

On 5 September 2018, Ardern travelled to Nauru, where she attended the Pacific Islands Forum. Media and political opponents criticised her decision to travel separately from the rest of her contingent so that she could spend more time with her daughter. Critics charged that the additional flight would cost taxpayers up to NZ$100,000.[85] Ardern had earlier rebuffed suggestions that she should not attend the Forum, citing tradition; she would have been the first New Zealand prime minister since 1971 to not attend the Forum outside an election cycle.[86] She was later criticised for not meeting refugees in Nauru.[87]

On 24 September, Ardern became the first female head of government to attend the United Nations General Assembly meeting with her infant present.[88][89] Her address to the General Assembly on 27 September praised the United Nations for its multilateralism, expressed support for the world's youth, and called for immediate attention to the effects and causes of climate change, for the equality of women, and for kindness as the basis for action.[90]

Ardern believes the retention or abolition of Māori electorates should be decided by Māori, stating, "[Māori] have not raised the need for those seats to go, so why would we ask the question?"[96] She supports compulsory teaching of the Māori language in schools.[9]

On social issues, Ardern voted in favour of same-sex marriage[97] and believes abortion should be removed from the Crimes Act.[98] She is opposed to criminalising people who use cannabis and has pledged to hold a referendum on whether or not to legalise cannabis in her first term as prime minister.[99][100] In 2018, she became the first prime minister of New Zealand to march in a gay pride parade.[101]

Referring to New Zealand's nuclear-free policy, she described taking action on climate change as "my generation's nuclear-free moment".[102]

On 19 January 2018, Ardern revealed that she was expecting her first child in June, making her New Zealand's first Prime Minister to be pregnant whilst in office.[112] Ardern was admitted to Auckland City Hospital[113] on 21 June 2018, and gave birth to a girl at 4:45 pm (04:45 UTC) that day,[114][115] becoming only the second elected head of government to give birth while in office (after Benazir Bhutto in 1990).[12][116] On 24 June, Ardern revealed her daughter's given names as Neve Te Aroha.[117] Neve is an anglicised form of the Irish name Niamh, meaning "bright"; Aroha is Māori for "love", and Te Aroha is a mountain in the Kaimai Range, near Ardern's home town of Morrinsville.[118]

See also

Related Research Articles

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1 2 Khan, M Ilyas (21 June 2018). "Ardern and Bhutto: Two different pregnancies in power". BBC News. Retrieved 22 June 2018. Now that New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has hit world headlines by becoming only the second elected head of government to give birth in office, attention has naturally been drawn to the first such leader – Pakistan's late two-time Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.